Drinking Water Controversy
In a study published in 2007, the National Institutes of Health deemed hexavalent chromium VI (chromium-6) to be a likely carcinogen in lab animals when consumed in large quantities in drinking water. Prior to the NIH study, a World Health Organization study found that chromium-6 was a likely cause of lung cancer when inhaled by humans. In 2010, test results released from a California non-profit group known as the Environmental Working Group showed that Norman's tap water has a chromium-6 concentration level of 12.90 parts per billion (ppb), which was the highest level detected among 35 US cities sampled in the study. The group is studying chromium-6 levels in water supplies in an attempt to prove a causal link between the element's ingestion and cancer in humans, and as a result improve the country's water standards.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency does not currently require testing for or set limits on chromium-6 levels in American cities' water supplies (but it does require total chromium-3 and chromium-6 levels not exceed 100 ppb). The EPA has recently completed studies of the element on lab animals and is expected to make a determination on chromium-6 maximum allowed levels in June 2012. The official total chromium-3/chromium-6 level present in Norman's drinking water has ranged from 20 to 80 ppb. It has been proposed that the source of the chromium-6 is the Garber-Wellington Aquifer, which is known to have elevated levels of heavy metals.
The issue of chromium-6 levels gained national attention with the 2000 film release of Erin Brockovich, which detailed a California woman's legal fight against Pacific Gas and Electric Company for allegedly contaminating her hometown with excessive levels of the element.
In the past the Norman water supply has also been criticized for the presence of excessive levels of arsenic. The city is attempting to combat this problem by building new wells and removing older ones.
Read more about this topic: Norman, Oklahoma, Infrastructure, Utilities
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